Beautiful Exile
by Habit
Summary: Exiling himself to the frozen territories of the north had been his way to protect them, those people he cared for. What happens when the one person he cares most for is in desperate need of his help? *No lemon, but there are adult themes-MA to be safe.


**A/N: yeah, so, since I got my job, I haven't really had time for writing fanfics, but I decided to post some of the fics I'd been saving so you guys don't get bored. This is one of many oneshots that i will be posting to hold you guys over until I can get back to working on fics on a reg basis. Enjoy! BTW, I DO NOT OWN NARUTO, JUST MY CRAZY ASS PLOTS!**

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It was the same thing every night. Though Shukaku could no longer take over like it once could, it tormented him with memories…memories of the things he'd once had and had given up on in order to protect those he'd come to care for. He still didn't trust that four letter word 'love'. It still brought back those memories of Yashamaru's betrayal. But, he had learned to care for others. And tonight, Shukaku tormented him with the one memory he cherished the most.

_"Gaara-kun…" _he could still hear the husky note in her voice as she'd slipped closer to him, her barely concealed curves enticing him where no other female figure ever had. He could still smell her…still taste her. Whenever his eyes closed, he could remember the deep blush on her cheeks, the daze in her brilliant emerald eyes. He could still see the way she bit her lip, her head thrown back in passion, could feel the way her body gripped him…

He sat up with a fine sheen of sweat all over his body. This is how it always was. He'd dream of her when he was actually able to sleep and he'd wake up aroused and painfully hard. But that pain reminded him of why he'd had to leave. He had to protect her…had to protect his siblings and their families. Shukaku may not be able to take over him anymore, but Shukaku could still manipulate him and cloud his vision. And over the woman who'd given herself to him, he could easily go into a killing frenzy.

Deciding that he'd had enough sleep for one night, he got up and slipped into the thick clothing he wore now since he'd exiled himself from his homeland. In the furthest northern reaches of Iwa, there was nothing to hurt, kill, or destroy except for mountains of rock and snow. He was miles away from any type of civilization and that's how he'd chosen it. He didn't want to hurt anyone anymore.

He was pulling his boots on when there was a knock at his door. He was instantly on alert and his sand, though sluggish, crept around him for defensive purposes. He walked to the door and opened it. On the other side of the door was a small figure covered in thick layers of clothing and a cloak on top of it. His eyes narrowed as something caught his eye from the hood of the figure's cloak. He reached out and yanked the hood of the cloak down and his eyes widened in shock.

"S-sakura?" He blinked and suddenly, he saw a young girl. He noticed the girl's eyes narrow on him before she shook her head.

"No. My name is Mikomi." Gaara then noticed another figure behind the girl who took off the hood of its cloak as well. Gaara's eyes widened as an almost mirror image of himself stood behind the girl that so resembled Sakura.

"And I'm Kietsu. Mikomi is my twin sister." The two regarded Gaara with narrowed eyes before looking back at one another and then further yet behind them. Another figure was there, holding something. Gaara walked out and hissed as the icy air hit his face. The figure came closer and he noticed with wide eyes it was his sister.

"Temari…what's going on?" He noticed the aged look about the blonde. She looked much older than her twenty eight years.

"It's about Sakura." Gaara stiffened instantly and looked at the two children behind him. They were watching him like children watch their heroes, but there was resentment in their gaze. Gaara looked back at his sister before nodding and leading the way back into his hut.

"It's cold. Come inside and warm yourselves." He said in a light voice. He stepped inside and felt instantly better. The warmth he'd missed while outside seemed to melt not only his skin, but his heart. He instantly turned to his sister, his eyes blazing.

"Where's Sakura?" he asked in a gruff voice before looking at the two children, who were trying hard to school their features. He watched them and noticed that, while the girl looked almost exactly like his Sakura, she had odd colored eyes and crimson red hair. The boy, however, had brilliant emerald eyes and deep red hair. They couldn't be more than ten, if that.

He was shocked by the mature attitude both displayed as they removed their cloaks and sat beside Temari, who seemed to have trouble moving. Gaara's eyes narrowed on his sister before he walked over to her and held his hand only inches from her chest.

She seemed to know what he was doing, because she shook her head. "No, it's not poison, Gaara." She said quietly. It was then a small, hastily choked sob caught his attention and he looked at the girl, who was sitting at Temari's feet.

Gaara knelt and looked at the little girl, who was biting her lip so hard he was sure it would bleed. He put his hand on her head and looked her in the eyes. "What is wrong, little one?" the girl looked up at him with large, tear filled eyes and he gasped as he noticed they were the same color as his. He looked from the children to Temari, who nodded, confirming they were members of his family. He then looked at the children again, this time with softness in his eyes, though his face was still expressionless.

"W-we're the reason she's hurt." The little girl sobbed and put her face in Temari's lap. Gaara noticed Temari put her hand on the girl's head.

"Komi-chan, I would give my life to protect you and Kietsu." The girl only cried harder and the boy walked over and sat at his sister's back, his head between her shoulder blades. He started telling Gaara what he wanted to know.

"Some men from Oto attacked us while we were on our way to Konoha to visit Naruto. In the attack, Aunt Temari was hurt and Uncle Shika was knocked out. We fought them off for the most part, protecting everyone, but we didn't know there was an ambush that the enemy was pushing us into." The boy became silent as his twin began sobbing again. He rubbed her back and told her things would be alright. Gaara looked up into Temari's eyes and noticed dread sitting there. She suddenly closed her eyes and sighed.

"Gaara…Sakura's been kidnapped." Gaara felt a whip of ice go through him at those words. He'd thought that by exiling himself to this frozen wasteland he'd been protecting them all, but he'd left them vulnerable. His eyes widened and his irises became pinpoints as rage burst through him. He could feel Shukaku gnashing its teeth at the thought of their little mate at the mercy of someone else.

Gaara stood, almost as if in a daze, and turned away from them, his hand over his heart. It felt like his heart was being ripped out as they spoke to him. Something inside him told him to punish those that had brought him such pain, but they were his family…though he wasn't sure which of his siblings had borne such beautiful children. He tried to think rationally and then something hit him. He turned and looked at them curiously.

"Why come to me? Why not inform Naruto or her husband?" He noticed both the children's eyes become dark, but it was Temari that spoke.

"Naruto is looking for her. This was not our first stop. We had to get Shikamaru to Konoha for medical help and inform the Hokage of the attack. As for the other…" it was then both children stood and lifted their chins proudly.

"She doesn't have a husband. She swore she'd never marry…that her heart was no longer her own…" Gaara felt his breathing freeze as memories came back to him. He remembered lying in bed with her, kissing her face. She'd giggled and looked at him, her eyes soft and loving.

_"Where will you go, Gaara-kun?"_ he remembered looking down at her and seeing a hint of sadness in her. He'd rolled on top of her and kissed her neck gently, nipping it lightly.

_"Somewhere that I can't hurt people…especially those that I care for. When Shukaku is no longer a threat, I will return." _He'd heard her sniffle and had looked into her eyes to see them swimming in tears.

_"I'll miss you so much…I don't know if I can bear it." _He'd smiled gently at her and kissed her face, right along the path of her tears.

_"Do not stop living your life because of me, anata. You will forget about me as the years pass and you will give your heart to another man. I will be nothing but a memory…"_ Though the thought had hurt at the time, he'd tried to tell himself he had been doing the right thing. He'd wanted her to find happiness.

She'd then looked up at him, her heart in her eyes and a sad smile on her lips. _"How can I give my heart to another man when it no longer is my own? It has been given to someone already…someone more deserving of it than any man on earth…"_ He remembered he'd wanted to say something, but she'd kissed him and…he blushed as he remembered the intimate way she'd seduced him into taking her again and again, until they'd both passed out and slept all the next day away.

Gaara looked at the two children before him and wondered what their relationship to Sakura was. They obviously cared for her very much. He'd thought perhaps they were Sakura's children, but that didn't explain their looks, unless Kankuro had sired them on her, but Sakura didn't have any romantic feelings for the eldest Sabaku son, nor did he have any for her. They could still be Kankuro's children, since red hair and green eyes was something that was common in their bloodline.

It was then he noticed both kids waving their hands in his face, their lips twisted with familiar frowns. "Hey, are you listening?" the girl thumped him on the forehead lightly and he blinked, staring at her. He looked at them both and noticed they'd crawled into his lap while he'd been thinking of the past. He noticed them both blush and then look at each other before looking at him.

"I'm sorry, what's the matter, little ones?" he noticed their insecure looks and then how they looked at Temari. Temari nodded and looked at Gaara.

"After you left, Sakura secluded herself from everyone. She rebuffed anyone foolish enough to approach her about marriage and even refused to marry several high ranking officials from both Wind and Fire. Even the Mizukage made a bid for her hand, but she politely declined, saying that she could not marry because the man she'd given her heart to still lived." Gaara felt his heart flutter…she still loved him, even after all these years. It was then that both children tugged on his shirt and he looked at them.

"Are you going to save mommy now?" Gaara's eyes widened as he looked at the little girl who had asked him this. Did this mean that Sakura was their mother? But, if she hadn't taken another lover then…he was interrupted by a snort from the boy in his lap.

"Of course he's going to save mom, Mi-chan! He _loves _her! We wouldn't be here if he didn't!" Gaara felt as if he'd been hit over the head with tree trunk. These two kids…were his? His and Sakura's? His eyes widened and he shook his head.

"M-my children? I have children?" They both looked at him and then at Temari, who closed her eyes.

"Sakura started feeling sick about four months after she cut herself off from other people. She thought it was just depression and ignored it…until she started showing. She panicked and contacted me immediately. She'd been living in your old house, up in the walls of the city where she could watch over Suna. Regular people couldn't reach it and she liked it that way." Gaara looked at the children in his lap again and his hands unconsciously tightened on them. He felt like his chest might burst with joy.

"When I got there, I noticed she'd, uh, gained a lot of weight. I took her to a midwife and the woman told Sakura she was about six months pregnant. I stayed with Sakura until the child, or in actuality children, were born. Both Mikomi and Kietsu were born with the same powers as you. They can control sand, but they haven't suffered like you did." Gaara looked down at the small children in his lap, who were looking up at him with loving eyes, though sadness did glaze them. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"If Sakura had told me, I'd have come to her immediately. Why didn't either of you contact me?" Temari sighed and shook her head.

"Sakura didn't want to force you back and she saw telling you about them as doing just that. She told me that you'd be back for her, and that this time you'd stay. They know everything about you, by the way. They even stand up for you when people call you a monster still." Gaara arched a brow at the thought and looked down at his children, who smiled proudly.

"Mommy tells us every night about the things you did to save Konoha and Suna. Despite what those jerks at the academy said, you're my daddy and I won't let anyone talk bad about you." His eyes softened as he looked down at Mikomi, who looked so much like Sakura it hurt. But her eyes and hair were definitely his. He then looked over at his son, who was scowling…something that made him look exactly like his father, despite having his mother's expressive eyes.

"Sensei used to yell at us for defending you. He said that beating up the other children for saying bad things about you was not the right thing to do." Kietsu then smirked and looked over at Temari, who was smiling.

"Mom came to the academy to pick us up because we were late. When she found out Sensei had kept us late because we'd defended you, she beat the crap out of him. He runs when he sees mom now." Gaara chuckled and shook his head before clearing his throat and looking at his sister.

"Did you recognize anyone from the ambush on Sakura?" he noticed Temari's eyes darken dangerously before she nodded.

"Uchiha. He's the one that took her." Gaara growled and pulled his children in close to him and closed his eyes.

"Do you know where they were heading? He's not stupid enough to take her back to Oto…not when he knows Naruto will be hunting him." He felt his son tug on his shirt and looked down at the boy, who looked at his sister.

"We don't know where he was headed but…" Gaara noticed that his children seemed to be communicating telepathically. He then noticed that they were staring up at him. His daughter finished her brother's sentence.

"We can find her. She's our mother, blood of our blood. If she's alive, then we can track her." Gaara stared at them, not sure if he liked the idea of his children getting involved in this. It was Temari that cleared her throat and spoke.

"Gaara, they may be ten, but they are already chunins. They are so much like you and Sakura it's frightening, really. They have Sakura's intelligence and your natural ability. Couple that with the abilities they inherited from your being possessed by Shukaku, and you've got something altogether unbelievable." Gaara nodded and looked at his children a wicked smirk coming to his face. They smirked as well, and Temari noticed how much like a pack of tanuki they really looked.

"Let's go hunting, my cubs. We go to track down your mother." He looked up and his eyes were glowing slightly. He bared his teeth in what may have been meant as a smile. "No one touches my mate…" he hissed and the three of them disappeared. Temari sighed and decided she'd sleep for a while and then head back to Konoha to be with her husband.

* * *

Emerald eyes shone fiercely as they met jet black. A smirk turned the lip of her assailant up before a hiss from her had him frowning again. She was not the same person she was when this man was her world. She'd changed…her world had changed, and he was no longer a part of it. She heard him grunt as he approached her and she tensed, ready to defend herself. He seemed to notice, because he frowned at her.

"Why do you resist me, Sakura? There was a time when you'd have given anything for what I am offering you." She curled her lip at him, snarling like a wild animal.

"Why do I resist you? You kidnap me, attack my family, and try to rape me. What's not to resist about something so foul and evil as you have become? The time of me worshiping you so blindly has long passed, Uchiha. Your best bet is to release me and hope that my family does not come looking for you." She noticed him arch his brow.

"Family? You have married? I see no ring." Sakura's eyes dulled as the old pain assailed her, but she lifted her chin proudly.

"I don't need a man to have a family. I have my sisters and brothers…my children and-" she gasped as she was slammed against the wall roughly. She could see madness in his eyes.

"Children? Those two red headed brats were yours?" he hissed and she winced as his hold on her tightened. She stared at him through narrow, pain filled eyes.

"Yes. They are my children. They are all that matter to me anymore." She hissed and head butted him, biting the inside of her cheek at the pain she felt. She noticed him stagger back and she took the time to put space between them. She glared at him as he finally looked up at her, hatred in his gaze.

"You are mine. You were always mine, and it is my children you will bear and raise, not someone else's!" he growled at her and ran at her again. She pumped chakra into her feet and bolted from him as he hit the wall with his hands to stop himself. She turned and faced him again, growling herself now.

"You abandoned me, Uchiha. I'm not the type of woman to wait around forever on someone who has never shown me any love. The father of my children loves me and I know he does and that's enough for me. You…you just want someone to give you as many Uchiha brats as you can pop out of her. I'm not that woman." There was suddenly an explosion and Sakura felt something stirring in her mind…and in her body. She gasped and blushed, knowing exactly what that feeling was.

"They're here…" she whispered and turned a wicked smirk on Sasuke. "You would have done well enough to leave me to die somewhere, Uchiha. My children have come, and they've brought their father. He's not going to be forgiving about you taking me." A roar was heard and the sounds of fighting. There was a pounding noise and Sakura looked at the ceiling of the underground room she was being held in. Suddenly, the ceiling opened up and light poured in. Sakura saw her two children, both fighting viciously, and the man who had her heart.

His red hair was slicked against his face with blood and his teeth were bared as he fought, growling and hissing angrily at anyone that came too close to his cubs. Sakura smiled and looked back at Sasuke, who was staring in shock and anger. Sakura jumped straight up, only to be caught by two giant sand hands, one from her son and the other from her daughter. She heard her kids scream 'mommy' and they ran to her. She held them both close to her and she kissed them on their foreheads. She then looked up at their father, who was staring at her with one blue-green eye and one black-gold eye.

"Sakura…" he said in that odd voice that meant Shukaku was close to the surface. Though the last time she'd seen him like this he'd tried to kill her, she walked over to him, her children holding her hands. She smiled at him before leaning forward and placing a kiss on his mouth.

"I knew you'd come for me…" she whispered and looked over her shoulder as she felt a spike in chakra. She noticed that Sasuke had used his cursed seal to transform and she snorted. "Stupid bastard doesn't seem to understand the position he's in." She then smiled down at her children. "Time to play, my darlings…" she noticed their eyes light up and then they looked down at the one that took their mother.

"You will regret…" the little girl growled. Her brother finished her sentence.

"Putting your hands on mommy…" Sakura put her hands on top of their heads and suddenly, seals appeared on their faces. The seals transferred to Sakura, winding up her arms until they stopped at her shoulders.

Gaara watched his mate and his cubs in awe. He felt the two children's chakra spike enormously when the two seals finally came off them and laid themselves against Sakura's skin. The seals glowed brightly as Sakura raised her arms. "Children, it is _playtime_!" he noticed both his children smile, their sharp pointed teeth and pin point eyes reminding him of his transformation into Shukaku.

He watched as Sakura suddenly dropped both arms. "GO!" and then…there was nothing. His children had disappeared. Frantically, he looked around for them, only to feel something drop on his face from above. He looked up as another drop of something wet hit his face. He looked up and gasped. Above him, his children were attacking the Uchiha…and winning. He wiped the drops from his face and looked at his fingers…it was blood…Uchiha's blood.

He looked up as his daughter delivered a wicked heel drop to the top of Sasuke's head, sending him down into a right hook from his son. That bounced the Uchiha back up into a double fisted hammer drop from his daughter and finally into the sole of his son's boot. He watched as the two children stood side by side as the Uchiha fell to the ground, unconscious. Gaara growled and advanced on the Uchiha, prepared to kill him for putting his hands on Sakura in any way, when Sakura put herself between them, her back to him.

He growled and pressed against her back, purring at the contact with her after years of separation. He scented her before growling low in his throat and running his lips up the soft skin."Sakura…" he growled and put his hands on her hips. He felt her relax back against him and he purred when she buried her hand in his hair over her shoulder.

"As much as I'd like to let you tear him apart, there's a bounty on his head from Konoha. He's been attacking teams of Naruto's shinobi for some time now. I think I will let him do as he pleases with this trash." Gaara growled but said nothing as his children slowly made their way over to their two parents. He watched Sakura put her hands on top of their heads and the glowing seals on Sakura's arms slowly slid off and back onto the two children, who grumbled a little but nothing extensive.

He watched the seals glow against the skin of their faces, the backs of their hands and down their necks before the glowing slowly disappeared and the seal was completely invisible. Sakura then kneeled down and smiled. "My babies…I'm so proud of both of you…" Gaara noticed the tears in both the children's eyes as they both pressed against her, her arms closing around them.

"MOMMY!" they both sobbed against her for a while before it was obvious both of them were sleeping. Sakura picked both the children up, no small feat in his opinion, and slowly turned to Gaara and handed him Mikomi. Sakura smiled as Mikomi cuddled up to Gaara. Gaara, however, was very shocked. He looked up at Sakura, who smiled and tilted her head to the west.

"Let's head to Konoha. It's faster that way." He nodded and looked over at the Uchiha. His sand encased the unconscious missing nin and tightly enclosed him in a sand coffin. They then took off, heading for Konoha.

Gaara was shocked by the welcome they received in Konoha. The children were awake by then, as was the Uchiha. When they were spotted, around sixty ninja were sent out to greet them. Most of them greeted Sakura reverently, though he could smell the fear on them. He looked over at Sakura, who had really cold eyes as she regarded the shinobi of her home village. She snapped her fingers and gave one man an irritated look.

"Bring me one of the Rookie 9. I will speak with no one else." She said in a harsh voice. All the ninja nodded and took off, obviously happy to be away from her. He noticed Sakura sigh and look at their children.

"All of the older shinobi are afraid of them. They think that our children are unstable like you were at their age. They antagonize the kids and it pisses me off." She smiled as they both felt a familiar chakra getting closer. Before she could say anything else, three figures burst through the trees.

"OBASAN!" a small girl with blonde hair and pearlescent blue eyes burst through the foliage, followed by a blonde man with sapphire blue eyes and a black haired woman with creamy silver eyes.

Sakura braced herself as the little girl launched herself into Sakura's arms. Even with the bracing, she was knocked over. The little girl laughed and looked over her shoulder.

"Mommy, daddy, look! It's Obasan!" Gaara looked at Sakura, who smiled and stood. She then looked over at him with soft eyes and he felt himself blushing. It was then that he heard a yelp he recognized. He looked over at the blonde, who was familiar and yet not.

"G-g-gaara?" Gaara arched a brow and looked over at Sakura, who smiled and nodded.

"Yup…that's Naruto." Gaara's eyes went wide as he looked the other male over. It had been years since he'd seen his old friend and now…now the blonde looked like an adult. Not to mention…

"Congratulations on achieving Hokage, Naruto. That's always been your dream, right?" he noticed the same gamine smile on the man's face as he remembered on Naruto's and he smiled gently. It was then that the little girl, obviously Naruto's child, came up to him and pulled on his sleeve.

"You're Mi-chan and K-kun's daddy, right?" he noticed the nervous look in her eyes and knelt before her with a smile.

"Yes, I am. And who are you?" he noticed the petulant look on her face as she put a hand on her hip and pointed at him with the other.

"You're the reason Obasan always cries and why Mi-chan and K-kun get called names at school! You're not a nice man!" he noticed the deep hurt in his children when he looked up and then turned his eyes to Sakura, who had a hand up to her mouth.

"I was wrong. I thought I was protecting the people I care for by going away where I couldn't hurt them. You see, like your daddy, I have a monster inside me. A monster that likes to hurt people…" he noticed the sage look on the child's face before she crossed her arms over her chest and nodded.

"You mean like the grumpy kitsune inside me." Gaara arched a brow and looked up at the child's sweat dropping parents.

"Ne, ne, Kushina-chan, you shouldn't speak like that to Auntie's mate." Gaara looked up at Naruto, who was scratching the back of his head.

He noticed Kushina look over her shoulder at her father before smiling and turning, running to hug her father.

"Hai, daddy." Gaara looked over at Sakura, who was blushing slightly, but smiling. Gaara then looked at the little girl, who had turned at a noise. He noticed markings flash over the child's face and neck as she caught sight of Uchiha. He also heard her hissing, like an angry cat.

"Daddy…it's the mean man…they have the mean man with them…" Gaara noticed the hair on the child's head stood out like an angry dog and wondered at the animosity this child felt for Sasuke. It was Sakura that put her hand on his arm and spoke.

"Sasuke came to the village about three years ago looking for me. He found Kushina-chan and the children instead. They knew who he was immediately and thought that, even with their seals intact, they could take him out. He almost killed Kietsu. Had Naruto not felt Kushina-chan's panic, he might have." He heard the tears in her voice and he pulled her to him, holding her.

"Well, since you have the traitor, we can head back and put him in the holding cells until his punishment can be decided." There was growling and Naruto looked over at the gold/black eyed tanuki container. "Gaara…" he said in a warning tone.

"If his punishment is death, I want to be the one to kill him." Gaara growled and put his hand on his son's head. "He tried to kill my cubs not once, but three times. I will have his head." He hissed and then turned into the caress that Sakura slid against his cheek. He kissed her palm and then picked up both his children. They squealed with excitement as he did and he smiled.

"I made the mistake of running away. I thought I'd be keeping them safe. But I won't be running anymore. My self-imposed exile ends here." He smirked as he heard Sakura gasp and then wrap her arms around him. He put one child on each shoulder as they walked into Konoha village, Sasuke in tow.


End file.
